Contents

Plant details

The power station comprises two operating units: a 288 megawatt coal-fired unit and a 82MW oil-fired unit.[1]

Retirement

In July 2013 FirstEnergy announced that it planned to decommission the plant in October 2013 rather than meet the costs of complying with the Environmental Protection Agency's Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS).[2] The company confirmed the retirement plans in October 2013.[3]

Downwind from the dump site sits Sauerkraut Hill, where residents say there are nine cases of cancer in the 18 houses. The Luzerne Township has elevated mortality levels for diseases that have been linked to pollution exposure, according to a 2010 Post-Gazette ecological study on mortality rates. Luzerne had 170 heart-disease deaths from 2000 through 2008 -- 26 percent higher than the national average, which would project 135 deaths. The Mon Valley is near several coal plants -- including the Mitchell Power Station, Elrama Power Plant and Hatfields Ferry Power Station.[4]

A sample of fly ash that was taken from the La Belle dump site showed the presence of arsenic and several heavy metals, most significantly lead. These represent levels in the actual ash, not amounts found in the air or on neighboring properties.[4]

In response, local resident Gary Kuklish circulated petitions signed by 93 La Belle-area residents that he sent to the state Department of Environmental Protection to seek an investigation and force the owner to clean up the process. DEP officials investigated and ordered the company to dampen roads to reduce coal dust.[4]

In March 2013, attorneys from the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP) and Public Justice announced intent to sue Matt Canestrale Contracting, Inc.(MCC), for improper coal ash disposal.